Floating harbor



3 Sheets-Sheet l NN ww. j wn N) C. W. KING FLOATING HARBOR Filed April14. 1930 Sept. 1, 1931.

C. W. KING FLOATING HARBOR sept. Y1, 1931.

5 Sheets-Sheet '4 Filed April 14. 1930 c. w. KING FLOATING HARBOR Sept.1, 1931.

Filed April 14. 1950 5 ShetS--Sheed 5 ,45 pointed prow Patented Sept. 1,1931 UNITED STATES PATENT oEFlcE FLOATTNG manon Application led April14,

This invention relates to floating harbors, for hydroplanes and othervessels, of that class shown and described in my application Serial No.405,423, tiled November 7, 1929, and

Q comprising long separated hulls connected in front by a pointed prowor breakwater, and also rigidly connected throughout. their length, ormainly so, by cross braces arranged aV suitable distance below the waterline, to

afford protected water spaces for hydroplanes or other vessels. Thisfloating harbor 'comprising these long floating hulls will be held withits pointed prow or breakwater against the. wind, and the vesselsseeking refuge will enter the open end of the harbor opposite saidpointed prow. It has been found by experiment, however, that a longfloating harbor, either anchored or held against the wind by propellers,is liable to a considerable pitching motion when the water is rough, andthe wave motion may thus be imparted to the water of the harbor; and thepresent invention relates to means for checking such pitching motionwhen vessels are entering or leaving the harbor.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a side view of a floating harborembodying one form of the present invention and Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a cross section, on an enlarged scale, on line 3 3,Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail view of a pitching-checking device applied asshown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views oftwo forms of pitching-checking devices different from that shown in Fig.4. Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating an approved form ofanchoring device for use in connection with the floating harbor. Fig. 8is a perspective view of the improved harbor,

to graphically illustrate the invention.

Referring tothe drawings, 12 denotes long hulls separated from eachother at suitable distances to afford a harbor space between them andconnected together in front by a or breakwater 13. A part 12a of one ofthe floating hulls 12 will preferably be of suf'ricient size to aiordstorage room for machinery and other supplies for hydroplanes 0r othervessels, and also to afford quarters for crews and passengers of vesselsseeking plates 18 1930. Serial N0. 444,257.

the protection of the harbor and of the crews manning the harbor.

The main floating hulls 12 may be supplemented by minor floating hulls14 connected wlth the main hulls 12 by suitable braces 15; 55 andoverlying these braces 15 are decks or floors 16 which will serve toprevent the outside wave motion from being imparted to the water of theharbor, said decks or floors 16 being rigidly connected with the hulls12, 12a 60 and 14. The hulls are connected together by a system ofbraces 17 arranged a suitable distance below the Water-line to afford aproper space in which hydroplanes or other vessels seeking protectionmay float. Attached to the hulls 12 and 14 are vertically disposedpreferably extending some distance above and below the Water, saidplates assisting in preventing the outside wave action from beingtransmitted to the harbor.

To check the pitching motions of the floating harbor in rough watervarious devices may be employed. In the form of the invention shown inFigs. 2, 3 and 4 Wells 19 are located near the rear ends of the hullsand also near the front end of the prow or breakwater 13. In each ofthese wells a horizontally disposed propeller 20 is located, suchpropeller being preferably driven from an electric motor also mounted ineach Well, as is more clearly shown in Fig. 4. The motors driving thepropellers 20 will be manually or mechanically controlled in such amanner as to operate reversely alternately, at different ends of thefloating harbor, and by this alternate reverse operation the pitchingtendency of 'the harbor will be checked or neutralized.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 5 caissons 23, with closedtops, may be `90 arranged similar to the Wells 19 in the harbor, thesecaissons being connected to air pumps 24 which will be operatedreversely to force compressed air into the upper parts of said caissonsand thus check the pitching tendency of the harbor. These pumps may beoperated in any suitable manner, as by an electrically driven gear 25meshing with a rack 26 on a piston rod 27 connecting the pistons of thereversely-acting air pumps.

Supplementing the action of the reversely operating air pumps or insubstitution of the same, if desired, the air spaces of the caissons 23may be connected by a pipe 32 extending lengthwise of the harbor, as doalso the air pumps, the down-turned ends of said pipe communicating withsaid air spaces so that pitching movements et the harbor will force airalternatively from one caisson to the other, thus automatically checkingpitching movements of the harbor. The passage et the air through thepipe 32 may be controlled by a manually controlled valve at 33.

F ig. 6 shows still another form of the invention by Which a pitchinginotion of the harbor may be checked by large vertically reciprocatingdisks 28 carried by rods 29 each having a rack 30 engaged by a pinion 3lwhich may be electrically driven by suitably connected motors. Thesevertically reciprocating disks, located at or near the opposite ends ofthe harbor` like the wells 19, will be alternately operated, that at thefront end of the harbor goingl up while those at the opposite` end ofthe harbor are going down.

rlhe improved Heating harbor 'will prefer ably be equipped withpower-driven propel- 1ers 34 arranged to act forward or sidewise orobliquely and by which the harbor may be navigated, turned or heldagainst the wind either when anchored or free.

From'the foregoing it will be understood that a pitching motion et thefloating harbor may be controlled or checked by various devices; and theinvention is therefore not to be understood as being limited to theparticular devices shown, as other devices, within the limits ofmechanical skill, may be employed for this purpose without departingfrom the essence of the invention.

A suitable means for anchoring the floating harbor or a buoy is shown inFig. 7, in which 35 denotes a cable connecting a hull or buoy 36 with a.float 27 from which said cable extends to a weight 38, normally restingon the ground or sea bottom, and thence to an anchor or heavy weight 39on the ground 0r bottom. To counterbalance the submerged weight of thecable the latter is provided with floats 40 which may be airtightvessels preferably cylindrical or spherical shape. When the harbor isdisplaced, as

shown in dotted lines, by wind or wave action, the weight 38 will belifted but will assist in restoring the harbor to its Hrst position, aswill be understood.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent 1. A long Heating harbor comprising a system of longspaced-apart hulls and plates which form the two sides of the harbor andwhose ends are connected together in front to form a suitablehreakwater, said hulls and plates being rigidly connected throughouttheir len ths by cross braces arranged some distance elow theWater-line, combined with means for checking the pitching movements ofthe floating harbor.

2. A long floating harbor comprising a system of long spaced-apart hullsand plates which ferm the two sides of the harbor and whose ends areconnected together in front to form a suitable breakwater, said hullsand plates being rigidly connected throughout their lengths, by crossbraces arranged some distance below the water-line, said hulls beingprovided with propellers arranged to act at difcrent angles, and bywhich the harbor may be navigated or turned and held against the wind.

3. A floating harbor comprising a system of long space -apart hulls andplates which form the two sides of the harbor and whose ends areconnected together in front to form a suitable breakwater, said hullsand plates being rigidly connected throughout their lengths by crossbraces arranged some distance below the water-line, combined with meansfor checking the pitching movements ot the Heating harbor, said meanscomprising wells at opposite ends of the harbor, and horizontallyarranged power-driven propel- 1ers in said Wells.

4. The combination with a Heating harbor, of an anchoring devicecomprising a cable connectingahull part of said harboror a buoy with afloat, and extending thence to a weight normally resting on the groundor sea bottom, said cable extending from said weight to an anchoringmember, the submerged part of said cable being provided with Heats tocounterbalance its weight.

5. A long Heating harbor comprising a system of long spaced-apart hullsforming the sides of the harbor and connected together throughout theirlengths by cross braces arranged belew the water line, combined withcaissons arranged toward or near the opposite ends of the harbor andhaving closed tops, and means tor causing air to enter the air spaces inthe upper parts of said caissons alternately, so as to check pitchingmovements of the harbor.

6. A long Heating harbor comprising a system of long spaced-apart haulsforming the sides of the harbor and connected together throughout theirlengths by cross braces arranged below the Water line, combined withdisks located at or near the opposite ends of the harbor below the waterline, and means for reciprocating the said disks vertically alternately,so as to check pitching movements of the harbor.

7. A long Heating harbor comprising a.

system of long spacedapart hulls and plates which form the two sides ofthe harbor and whose ends are connected together in front to form asuitable breakwater, said hulls and plates being rigidly connectedthroughout their lengths by cross braces arranged some distance belowthe water-line, combined with alternately-acting devices, located nearthe opposite ends of the harbor, for checking the pitching movements ofthe Boating harbor. 1n testimony whereof I aix my slgnature.

CLARENCE W. KING.

